Astro's ‘Bride From the Past’ turns KL stations into viral XHS moment

Astro has unveiled a visually striking and culturally resonant campaign for its new Astro Original supernatural period drama, Bride From the Past (幽冥新娘), which tells the story of filmmaker Xichi falling in love with Adou, a ghost bride with unfinished business. While the show appears to follow a classic supernatural romance, it also explores deeper themes of confronting the past and finding closure, highlighting the emotional journey beneath its ghostly veneer.

Launched during Ghost Month, the campaign was designed to invite audiences to engage with the show’s emotional core, of confronting past regrets to find peace in the present. At the centre of the activation is the mantra, “Don’t let your past haunt you,” with the Chinese character “鬼” (ghost) used metaphorically to represent lingering emotional baggage.

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The main activation brought the ghost bride Adou to life in three high-traffic MRT and LRT stations in Kuala Lumpur, culminating at Bukit Bintang MRT Station with a haunting er hu performance. Commuters were surprised by appearances from haunted house actresses and the show’s cast, capturing the immersive experience on social media. The campaign also featured towering OOH pillars covered in Chinese talismans, which carried the show’s title, call-to-action, and transmission details, allowing commuters to take them home as collectibles.

Benjamin Woo, head of group marketing at Astro, said the campaign successfully built social currency in the Chinese content sphere: “The Hungry Ghost Festival is widely recognized within the Chinese community, yet many are unfamiliar with its deeper significance. Through this campaign, we aimed to spark curiosity and reflection around these traditions. While the subject may be seen as sensitive, we’re proud to have initiated conversations that encouraged people to ask, ‘Why is this considered taboo?’, ultimately turning cultural tension into thoughtful engagement.”

Building buzz on Xiaohongshu and more

The campaign has already delivered strong results, with ratings and approval for the show’s launch day exceeding targets by 41.67%, over 1 million user-generated content (UGC) views across Instagram, Xiaohongshu, and Facebook within the first two days, and the activation going viral on Xiaohongshu’s FYP. On Instagram and Meta, the campaign garnered 721 mentions from 308 authors and reached 2.1 million users, Astro shared with A+M. 

Speaking about engagement on Xiaohongshu, Woo added, “There’s no established playbook for brands on Xiao Hong Shu to engage effectively, especially since paid ads aren’t allowed. But with a strong, relevant audience insight and an execution that genuinely resonates, people naturally engaged. The campaign sparked organic conversations and content."

This proves that authenticity and cultural relevance can break through, even on the most challenging platforms.

Astro collaborated with Naga DDB Tribal as the creative partner, who helped shape the campaign’s core idea and bring cultural relevance and impact to the execution. Alvin Teoh, chief creative officer at Naga DDB Tribal, explained that the campaign sought to position Bride From the Past as “not merely a ghost story, but as a symbolic journey of closure and emotional healing,” encouraging audiences to confront their own “inner ghosts.”

MRT Corporation played a pivotal role in making the activation possible. Schrene Goh, chief of commercial at MRT Corp, shared with A+M that the team approached the campaign from the commuter’s perspective: “We don’t just see ourselves as the venue owner providing media space, we try to step into the shoes of the commuter as well. That means asking: how will this campaign feel to someone rushing for their train, or waiting on the platform?”

She added that MRT Corp worked closely with Astro’s media agency, WPP Media, to ensure the activation “wasn’t just visible, but alive in the right station environment. The suspense of the series had to be felt in the space itself.” WPP Mediasupported the campaign on the media front, ensuring strategic placement across channels to maximise reach.

Goh also highlighted how campaigns like this can inspire other brands to think creatively:

We see MRT stations as more than transit hubs. Each one is like a blank canvas that can be transformed into something special if the idea is right.

"What Bride From the Past showed is that brands don’t have to stop at posters or digital screens. They can create immersive experiences that weave into the commuter journey itself. These placemaking activations resonate with our ethos of enhancing mobility and enriching communities," she said. 

How the commute became prime real estate

Earlier in June, A+M dove into how Malaysia's LRT and MRT stations have become a key playground for immersive, multi-sensory advertising formats, signalling a deeper change, both in consumer expectations and brand ambition. According to industry players in conversation with A+M, transit advertising has shifted from being largely static and purely visual over the years, to becoming increasingly immersive and experiential. Ultimately, brands are looking for ways to cut through the noise, and immersive transit campaigns do just that. 

Across borders, brands have been taking their immersive campaigns up a notch. Besides Netflix's all out, regional activations for the releases of Squid Game 2 and Wednesday this year, Apple TV’s marketing stunt for Severance season 2 captured the internet’s attention in January. The New York City pop-up at Grand Central Station recreated the iconic four-seated desk from Lumon’s "macrodata refinement" department. There, the show’s cast posed as “outies,” performing their usual routines, until 7 pm when the “innies” clocked out, leaving behind post-it notes that added an eerily interactive touch to the experience.

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